


I'll Be Good

by SilverGoddess666



Series: Harmonies [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst and Fluff, But mostly fluff, Cuban!Lance, M/M, also he plays guitar, boi am i trash, klance, the shippy songfic no one asked for and everyone wants
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-23 06:37:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9644696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverGoddess666/pseuds/SilverGoddess666
Summary: It's a shame Lance can't fly as well as he plays guitar.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So I found an AMV with this song and decided this needed to exist. First thing I posted on here and still messing with the HTML bs(is there an easier way to do this pls help), so forgive any screw ups there.
> 
> The song used is I'll Be Good by Jayme Young
> 
> Edit 2/16/17: I'm just gonna make this a series. They'll all be chronological, but I have no real plot for it, just a music theme for each one. I don't have a schedule for it, I usually just hear a song I like or it and spit something out in an hour and post it, but I want to keep them together.

The flames gave off a low crackle, casting a soft orange glow over the paladins and the two natives from the planet they’d landed on. It had originally been for maintenance, the seven having found a rare lull in the battles. Coran had them landed on the nearest friendly planet, Obidea, to make the repairs move more quickly, and they’d been welcomed by its inhabitants.

They had started a small fire close by the ship, Allura and Coran remaining on board as they worked on the repairs, having shooed away Pidge and Hunk who had been helping them tirelessly for hours. Two of the Obideics had gone with them, answering the questions Shiro and Keith had about this and nearby planets, a man and a woman by the names Sorek and T’sama. Sorek was a short, chubby man with deep indigo skin and light green hair in a small braid, while T’sama was tall and curvy with light lavender skin and long, midnight blue hair. Both had striking yellow eyes with dark amber slitted pupils.

Keith had been poking at the fire for the past ten minutes with one of the longer sticks of the wood they’d gathered, chin resting on one knee. Lance leaned back, watching the stars and trying to find familiar constellations among them. Pidge and Hunk had been quietly talking over some of the various repairs that were being done on the ship, bouncing ideas back and forth on how to keep them from happening again as easily, and Hunk having to talk Pidge out of a couple “upgrades”. Shiro had remained mostly quiet, arm draped over a knee with his eyes closed, letting himself enjoy the small break of peace.

Lance turned his head to the side, glancing at the instrument at Sorek’s side, laying between his and T’sama, who’d brought it. “Hey can I see that?”

“Hm? This?” he asked, picking it up.

“Yeah.” The man handed it over and Lance sat up, propping it up on his lap.

“What are you doing?” Keith asked, glancing over when Lance began to fiddle with the strings.

“Well, it has six strings, just like a guitar.” He replied, messing with the notches at the top that were used to tune it. It wasn’t the same as the tuning heads, but there were tiny wheels with notches cut in them to adjust the tune. “I’m thinking maybe I can make it sound like-hah!” He ran his fingers over the strings and a warm hum spilled from them.

“You play guitar?” Pidge asked, their attention shifting from Hunk to Lance.

“Dude, he totally can.” Hunk chimed it. “He learned when he was a kid, like half the people in his family can play.”

“Hope he’s a better musician than pilot.” Keith said, a small grin tugging at the corner at his lips. Lance flicked a rock at him with a scowl.

“Keep it shut, mullet.” He grumbled. “Kinda rusty, I haven’t played since before I went into the Garrison, so it’s been a good couple years.” He picked at a few strings, notes and chords coming back to him. “Here, let’s go with this, this is one of my favorite things I ever learned to play.”

Soft notes began to sound, and immediately everyone was watching him, recognition lighting up in their eyes. Even Shiro picked up with head, a soft smile coming across his features.

 

_“I thought I saw the devil,_

_This morning_

_Looking in the mirror, drop of rum on my tongue_

_With the warning_

_To help me see myself clearer_

_I never meant to start a fire_

_I never meant to make you bleed_

_I’ll be a better man today.”_

“What the heck?” Pidge whispered. “Since when can Lance sing?”

“Bro, like I said, half his family is like this. He grew up around it.” Hunk replied.

“ _I’ll be good, I’ll be good_

_And I’ll love the world, like I should_

_Yeah, I’ll be good, I’ll be good_

_For all of the time_

_That I never could.”_

Hunk started tapping on the ground lightly where the drum would in the original song. Keith’s eyes were widened as he watched in shock. There was no way Lance, or anyone else could know, but that song was one he’d listened to hundreds, if not thousands, of time as he moved from foster home to foster home over the years. For a long time, he’d used it to keep himself grounded, to remind him that he had to keep moving to have the life he wanted.

_“My past tasted bitter_

_For years now_

_So I wield an iron fist_

_Grace is just a weakness_

_Or so I’ve been told_

_I’ve been cold, I’ve been merciless_

_But the blood on my hands scares me to death_

_Maybe I’m waking up today.”_

Lance’s voice was surprisingly smooth, though they didn’t know about the two years of choir he’d been in before they’d all met. But it was warm and quiet, rolling over the flames like it belonged there all along, making the occasional twang of a missed note lost. Pidge raised their hands and began to quietly clap along opposite of Hunk’s tapping, and it was like a spell had settled over the group.

_“I’ll be good, I’ll be good_

_And I’ll love the world, like I should_

_I’ll be good, I’ll be good_

_I’ll be good, I’ll be good.”_

Shiro glanced over at Keith, the teen’s gray eyes locked in an intense gaze on Lance. Shiro knew what the song meant to him, and he wasn’t sure how, of all songs, Lance managed to pick that one, but he was glad. He thought it was something Keith had been needing to hear for a while now. He could see as Keith’s lips silently moved along with the words of the song.

_“For all of the light that I shut out_

_For all of the innocent things that I doubt_

_For all the bruises I’ve caused and the tears_

_For all of the things that I’ve done all these years_

_And all_

_Yeah, for all of the sparks that I’ve stomped out_

_For all of the perfect things that I doubt.”_

Keith was lost in a swirl of old memories, ones he rarely would let emerge. Ones of when he was young, back when he’d been with his actual parents. The day he’d been pulled from school, when a call to the principal had told what happened. He’d only been seven, and never found out what had actually happened until a couple years later. All he’d known then was that they were dead, and he wasn’t going to see them. He remembered sitting alone in the front row of a church, staring blankly at two coffins. He remembered when he was told that the truck driver at the hospital wanted to talk to him, wanted to apologize. It had been an accident, swerving to avoid a dog in the road and losing control. He’d refused, and went through about three foster homes a year until he was thirteen, when he was taken to juvenile hall. After that, it calmed to about once a year, but he couldn’t ever hold a place longer than that until he’d joined the Garrison, and he’d been kicked out of that too.

 

Then Voltron happened. It hasn’t lasted much longer than any of his foster homes yet, but he had a sense of family here more than he had since before his parents died.

_”I’ll be good, I’ll be good_

_And I’ll love the world, like I should_

_Yeah, I’ll be good, I’ll be good_

_For all of the times_

_I never could, oh, oh-oh”_

Lance’s head tipped back as the smooth notes rang from his lips, muscle memory taking over as he no longer needed to look at the instrument.

_“For all of the time that I never could_

_All of the times that I never could…”_

There was a long moment of silence before Lance hit a chord at random, jarring the quiet and shattering the spell, causing Keith to jump in the slightest. “Wow, I kinda forgot how much I liked playing. Dude, we should totally have karaoke night sometime. I know a ton of Ed Sheeran, The Fray and Coldplay.”

“Lance, that’s all stuff they play at middle school dances for the ‘slow dance’.” Pidge said. They regretted their words as a shit eating grin spread over his lips, and the next chords he played caused them to cringe.

_“Today is gonna be the day_

_They’re gonna throw it back to you.”_

“Lance, _no_ , I heard enough of that when you were learning.” Hunk cried, clapping his hands over his ears. “Does it sound good? Yeah, sure, but it’s the same song everyone else knows how to play, _so please don’t_.”

Lance threw his head back and laughed. “C’mon, everyone loved Wonderwall.”

“Until it became the one song everyone played on guitar to make it sound like they’re a better player than they are.” Keith said, having shaken himself from his trance and was now leaning back.

“Alright, how about this?” He reached up and snatched off Hunk’s headband, tying it snugly around the neck of the instrument. “I don’t have a capo, so this is gonna have to work.”

“Capo?” Shiro asked.

“Those things they clip on guitars to change the key.” Lance summarized. “Not gonna lie, it took me forever to learn this, so forgive me if it sounds like crap sometimes.”

He picked at the strings again, trying to remember the notes. “I _think_ I’ve got it.” After a moment, another familiar melody began to play. “Please, do join me, I know every one of you know this.”

_“On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair_

_Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air”_

Unsurprisingly, Hunk was the first to join in. Next was Shiro, then Pidge, and eventually Keith even did. Lance singled him out after a moment, and found that he also seemed to be able to sing pretty well, though his voice was far less smooth than his given he doubted Keith was the type to sing in the shower(or at all).

The mood of the campfire easily shifted from somber to lively, as Lance began to run through the more upbeat songs he knew. They laughed when Pidge put a little too much emphasis on the swears in I Write Sins Not Tragedies, all stopped in dead silence when Hunk could actually belt out the high note in Bohemian Rhapsody with a little too much precision(his niece bet him he couldn’t do it so he practiced until he could, okay?), and just in general had a good time.

Allura and Coran had joined them eventually, having seen them through a window all laughing and singing along. Lance received a considerable amount of praise from everyone and every bit of it went straight to his ego.

“Wow Lance, I didn’t know you could play like that. Nice job!”

“Yeah, that’s kinda awesome.”

“Dude, I’m honestly surprised you cans still play so well since it’s been so long.”

“Marvelous job, my boy!”

“Lance, what an incredible skill!”

“Can’t believe you have actual talent.”

Okay, maybe not the last one, it earned another pebble thrown at Keith, but it didn’t do anything to dampen the mood.

“Blue Paladin, do me the honor of keeping the septichord.” T’sama said with a smile. It had originally been hers, but after hearing him play, she told him to keep it. “It warms my heart to see you all so happy, I believe it would be in better hands.”

“Anything for you, pretty lady.” He winked, earning a chorus of groans and eye rolls.

T’sama didn’t comment on it, her eyebrow merely twitching. “Obidea wishes you all a safe journey, Paladins, and we will be by your side in the fight against Zarkon.”

Allura reached out and shook her hand. “Thank you T’sama. Your generosity won’t be forgotten.”

Everyone said their goodbyes and parted ways, and by the time they all got back on the ship, everyone was _very_ done with Lance’s boasting.

“Oh yeah, that just happened! Who’s lame _now_?”

“Still you.” Keith deadpanned.

“Really? Don’t stand there and act like you didn’t join in on the campfire sing along.” Lance smirked. He pulled the septichord to his chest. “We’re gathered ‘round the campfire to sing our campfire song-”

“ _Lance.”_ Shiro’s tone was warning, but his expression carried a small, rueful grin. “You did great, but don’t push it. Everyone’s in a good mood and I’d like to keep it that way as long as I can.”

“Alright, alright.” He grumbled.

“Everyone, rest up. There’s no telling how long this break is gonna last, so get some sleep while you have the chance.” Shiro said, and no complaints were to be found. It was a rare bout of luck that nothing had attacked Obidea during their stay, but no one was willing to push the odds.

With a few nods, everyone headed off to their rooms.

(*)

Keith couldn’t sleep. Not that it was altogether too unusual, but stupid Lance and that stupid song had him picking through memories that he’d rather go untouched. He’d boxed them up all nice and neat, and now they were flooding back through his mind like they hadn’t since he was a kid.

Finally, he threw back the sheets with a huff and pulled his shirt back on. If he wasn’t gonna sleep, he might as well be productive. He slipped out of his room, heading towards the training deck, but didn’t make it further than a few steps. His head turned slowly toward Lance’s door, where the softest sounds could be heard.

_“Shit, almost had it…”_

He could faintly hear the notes of a unfamiliar tune, playing for a moment in a fast paced pattern before they faltered. Before he realized what he was doing, Keith found himself knocking on the door.

“ _Yeah?”_ The door slid open. “Oh, hey Keith. Sorry, am I bugging you?”

“No, I…” He wasn’t sure what would be a good answer.

Lance smirked. “What, didn’t get enough awesomeness earlier?”

Keith scowled. “You know what? Nevermind.”

“Keith, wait!” Lance called. “Sorry… Do, uh, do you wanna come in, or something?”

He wasn’t sure why, but Keith walked into the room, pulling up the chair and straddling the back.

“So, what brings you by?” Lance asked, back to fiddling with the septichord, but his eyes remained on Keith, strumming a simple, quiet tune to fill the silence.

Keith sighed, knowing his next words were a bad idea. “I just…I overheard you and, don’t let it go to your head, but…I like hearing you play.” He mumbled.

Keith expected Lance to laugh and tease him, but instead he just smiled, a soft melancholy finding their way into his eyes. “You know, right now, you kinda remind me of my little brother. He used to come into my room at night and ask me to play. He was ADHD and had a hard time sleeping, but he hated his medication, so I’d basically sing him to sleep. I mean, I doubt you’re here for a lullaby, but I get it.”

Keith dropped his head to where his arms were crossed over the back of the chair, and for several minutes, just listened to the tuneless melody that Lance played.

“Hey Keith?”

He picked up his head as silence took over again, and Lance gave him a curious look.

“Yeah?”

“Would you mind humoring me for a sec?”

“Uh, depends on what it is.”

The soft smile came back, as the haunting tune came back. “Sing.”

Keith’s eyes widened, but the words came out of their own accord. He would know them in his sleep, he didn’t even have to think about them.

_“I thought I saw the devil, this morning…”_

Lance had been right. Keith was honestly a pretty good singer. His voice was soft and husky from lack of being used in such a way, but he carried a tune well.

He’d known almost right away that this song was important to Keith. Growing up around music the way Lance had, it was easy to see when music had an effect on people, and whatever it was about this one had clearly made an impact on Keith. He didn’t know much about him beyond what he’d learned since the team had come together, but he knew Keith had a rough childhood and had been orphaned at a young age. He couldn’t imagine what that must be like, coming from such a large family himself. Sure there were times when they grated his last nerve, there were _lots_ of those, but he wouldn’t trade them for the world, and now and again the ache in his chest would come back at how far away they were.

_“My past tasted bitter, for years now…”_

He could hear the slight crack in Keith’s voice, and Lance knew he’d hit the nail on the head. His guess was that Keith related to it on an intense level and had probably listened to it countless times over the years.

Lance was almost reluctant to play the last part of the song. This was one of the rare times where he and Keith were getting along in perfect harmony. No fighting, no bickering...genuinely enjoying each other’s company. They were few and far between, and Lance wanted to cling to this one, because he got a feeling he was getting to see a side of Keith that very few had.

But, of course, it did, and when Keith’s head rose, Lance swore he could see the slightest shine to his eyes, but a second later, it was gone.

There was a moment of awkward silence.

“Uh, I guess I’ll-“

“No.” Lance cut him off. “I mean, you don’t have to leave, I’m not about to kick you out. Not gonna lie, it’s kinda nice for someone to actually like me playing that much.” His gaze slid downwards. “Reminds me of home.”

“Yeah.”

“C’mere.” Lance said, scooting over. “I wanna see if I can teach you to play it.”

“Are you serious?” Keith asked, raising an eyebrow. “This strikes you as a good time for a music lesson?”

“Well, it’s obvious you have this thing with the song-“

“I do not have a thing.” Keith argued, but Lance kept talking.

“-and if you learn to play it, it’s even better. I speak from experience. So come here, I’m going to try and teach you a simplified version.” He lightly smacked the space beside him. “If nothing else, call it a solid because we’re actually getting along like civilized adults.”

Keith rolled his eyes but eventually complied.

Lance then scooched a little closer than Keith would have liked, placing the septichord in his lap. It felt bulky and awkward. He could see lines scraped in the neck that hadn’t been there before.

“I cut notches in it like the frets of a normal guitar, to make it a little easier.” Lance supplied when he saw Keith run his finger over one of them. “Frets basically tell you how far up or down to put your fingers when playing the notes, so what might be an A up here,” he plucked the string that his finger was pressed on. “might be a G down here.” This time a higher pitch played. “They make more sense when reading a tab but I don’t exactly have any of those, so that won’t make a lot of sense right now.”

“Nothing you’re saying makes sense right now.” Keith grumbled. He knew very little of guitars. He’d known a girl named Jordan from his foster family in Pennsylvania who’d been an incredible musician, but he hadn’t retained hardly anything she’d told him in the few times they’d met. She ditched more school than she attended, so it was rare they would run into one another.

Lance just chuckled. “That’s kinda how it goes, but it will if you keep up with it. Now, these are the first few notes…”

Keith struggled for over an hour, but finally managed to half ass the intro to the point someone could _probably_ recognize the song if they knew it well. His fingertips ached from where they had been pressing into the strings. “Dude, how do you do this? My fingers are killing me.”

Lance held up his own hand and Keith could see where the ends of his fingers were red and bruised, skin peeling up a bit in a few spots. “That’s just something else you get used to it, it really doesn’t even bother me. Before I went into the Garrison I had really thick calluses on my hands from it, but they take a while to get there and I honestly don’t see you having the patience for it.”

“I’m not sure how you did, you sure you aren’t the ADHD one?” Keith asked.

“I am, actually, we both were. I just responded better to the medication so I took mine. Mateo’s made him act like a literal zombie and mine just chilled me out like they were supposed to.”

“Oh.” Way to make it awkward, Keith.

“Probably explains a lot, yeah?” Lance joked.

“Kinda, not gonna lie.” Keith replied and they both laughed.

“Don’t tell Pidge, though, or the next great project will be formulating some kind of alien ADHD medication.”

“Honestly, you’re making it sound like a better idea every second you talk about it.” Keith said with a grin.

“God no, who knows how the hell it’d work. I went through about four before I hit the one that worked.” Lance said, glancing at the septichord.

“Here, try holding it like this, it might make it easier to switch chords.” He reached around Keith to move it, then glanced around at exactly how they were sitting.

 _Shit, calm down, Lance, your bi is showing_ he thought to himself. Not like it was any kind of secret, but he quickly shifted back regardless.

Keith could feel himself heat up as well, but he had enough control to push it away before Lance caught him blushing. It was times like this he was glad he’d never advertised he was gay, because it would make situations like this way too weird for everyone involved.

He moved to try and play the small part he’d learned, finding that it actually had helped, now that his left arm wasn’t at such an awkward angle. “Um, yeah, that is better. Thanks.”

“No problem.”

Keith turned to see Lance’s face far closer than he’d expected it to be, though the Cuban teen was watching Keith’s hands, his blue eyes flicked up to meet Keith’s gray gaze in an instant.

Whatever it was he was going to ask had long since left his mind, and before he could even think about trying to remember what it was, he found himself kissing Lance.

Or maybe Lance had kissed him? Hell if he could remember.

Seconds later, they jerked apart when Keith’s hand moved to awkwardly smack the strings, bringing forth a harsh twang.

“Oh god, I’m so sorry, that was so out of line, shit-!” Words tumbled out of Lance’s mouth faster than his brain could keep up with.

Keith just rolled his eyes and leaned forward, clapping a hand over Lance’s mouth. “Lance. Stop.”

Lance’s voice cut off and he watched carefully as he leaned back. “Uh, did I miss something? Most guys freak out when another guy randomly kisses them. Unless…?”

Understanding lit up on Lance’s face and Keith wanted to face palm. “If I just say yes right now can we skip the interrogation about it?”

“Can I have one question?” Lance asked.

Keith let out a sharp breath through his nose. _This_ was why he didn’t tell people. “Fine. _One_.”

“Dude, chill, I was just curious if you swung both ways, or are you a loud and proud rainbow?”

“You couldn’t have phrased that worse if your life depended on it.” Keith stated flatly.

“Well, I mean, I think it’s a fair enough question, since I’m bi, which you probably know since Hunk has a big mouth.” Lance shrugged.

“Never again call it, or me, a loud and proud rainbow.”

“Welp, then I guess that answers that.” Lance said, mostly to himself. “Dude, don’t sweat it. I promise no one cares.”

He knew that. When he’d told Shiro over two years ago before the Kerberos mission, he’d been a stuttering mess and Shiro had actually laughed. He ruffled his hair and said it didn’t matter to him, he was still the same Keith he knew. But Keith didn’t like dealing with people as it was, so he didn’t want to give them anymore reason to approach him.

“Yeah, well, if you don’t mind, still don’t go blurt it out.” Keith huffed.

“Keith, that’s completely up to you. I know what it’s like to not be ready to out yourself. Yeah, I’m super open about it now, but I wasn’t always like that. I freaked my dad out pretty bad over it, which made me really hesitant to tell people, but after a while, he just accepted it for what it was. But that’s not my business to tell people.” Lance said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

“My turn for the question; why did you kiss me?” Keith asked, picking at a thread on his glove, looking anywhere besides Lance.

Lance was quiet for a moment. “I don’t have a great answer for that. At the time, it just seemed like it was what I should do, but in hindsight, I may have been wrong. Why, did I make you mad or something?”

“Something tells me it should have, but no.” Keith wasn’t the type to have crushes, never was, but the notion of Lance kissing him, or even kissing him again, didn’t sound bad at all.

“Then I’m just gonna leave it where it is and leave it alone. Whatever happens from here, happens.” Lance finally said. “Sound alright?”

“Yeah, it does.” Keith stood, figuring he should probably go back to his room before one of them said something to ruin…whatever just happened.

“Hey, Keith?” lance said softly just before Keith could walk out the door. “Feel free to stop by whenever. I like playing and it’s nice to have someone listen.”

Keith smiled. “I’ll take you up on that.”


End file.
